So the ancient Mayans predicted an apocalypse in 2012 did they? Well, that’s not something to look forward to now is it? Bloody Mayans – they had an even bleaker outlook than a Nine Inch Nails fan reading Sylvia Plath in a North Korean prison.

So, apocalypse aside what does 2012 hold in store for music and film? Here’s a list of twenty things exciting Slacker Shack, as we dangle on the cliffs of 2011 staring out at the horizon (click on the links below to find out more about each forthcoming favourite):

And what a list it is too, comprising of tunes as diverse as the fuzzy bedroom indie-funk of Unknown Mortal Orchestra (Ffunny Ffriends), the charmingly British electro-pop of Metronomy (The Bay), the Nuggets-esque garage rock of The Black Lips (Mad Dog) and the obtuse slacker rock brilliance of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks (Stick Figures In Love)

Check out out choices below (in no particular order) and download a handful of mp3’s too – it’s been a good year:

Bedroom Community is an Icelandic record label/collective formed in 2006 by Valgeir Sigurðsson, Nico Muhly and Ben Frost.

Their roster includes the aforementioned Frost, Muhly, and Sigurðsson, along with Sam Amidon and Puzzle Muteson, and their music takes in everything from folk to classical, and from ambient to electronica – all of it otherworldly and beautiful.

Most of their music is recorded in Reykjavik at the Greenhouse Studios. To check out what they’re all about, head on over to the Drowned In Sound website to pick up a free downloadable sampler of 12 tracks they released as a Yuletide freebie here.

2011 has been a great year for albums. Whether it be the eclectic US hip-hop sounds of Danny Brown, Das Racist, Shabazz Palaces, Beans, Beastie Boys andPharoahe Monch’s long players or the alt-rock sounds of Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks, White Denim, Real Estate, Boston Spaceships andChad Vangaalen – it’s been varied and special.

There’s been some beautiful oddities too, like Unknown Mortal Orchestra‘s eponymous debut, the Mister Heavenly ‘supergroup’ and their debut ‘doom-wop’ album, Out of Love. Plus the delightly peculiar, tUnE-YaRdS LP, W H O K I L L and it’s take on avant-afro-beat-indie (or whatever the cool new way of describing the charming madness of Merrill Garbus is currently).

Even the mellow stuff had an odd streak. Bill Callahan‘s Apocalypse ushered in seven tracks filled with rich storytelling and beautifully-off-kilter Americana from one of the US’s best living songwriters. Bon Iver followed up their amazing debut, with an eponymous second, that widened their sonic template but lost none of their charm. The Youth Lagoon debut, The Year of Hibernation also offered a hush take on sepia-tinged fragility and gentle bedroom indie brilliance.

So, in no particular order, here are Slacker Slack‘s top twenty albums of the year – along with five downloadable tracks that you may or may not wish to consider as a ‘sampler’:

Are you still scratching your head and wondering what the hell bond yields are? Are you eager to find out about the art of planking and what the hell a Higgs Boson is? Don’t worry you’re probably not alone.

Fortunately grumpy guffaw merchant, Charlie Brooker has saved us all the effort of at least an hour of googling, by penning a new piece for The Guardian, which delves into 2011’s key buzzwords and brings forth chuckles too.